Many known monomers and polymers are currently synthesized from non-renewable, expensive, petroleum-derived or natural gas-derived feedstock compounds. High raw material costs and uncertainty of future supplies requires the discovery and development of useful monomers and polymers that can be made from inexpensive renewable biomass-derived feedstocks and by simple chemical methods. Using renewable resources as feedstocks for chemical processes will reduce the demand on non-renewable fossil fuels currently used in the chemical industry and reduce the overall production of carbon dioxide, the most notable greenhouse gas.
Polycarbonates, acrylate and alkacrylate monomers and polymers, allyl monomers and polymers, and oxirane (epoxy) monomers and polymers are useful materials in making many industrially important formulations and articles. It is desirable to provide acrylyl, alkacrylyl, oxiranyl, and allyl functional compounds, as well as their polymerized or grafted counterparts, based in whole or in part upon renewable biomass feedstocks. It is desirable to provide one or more linear, branched, crosslinked, or grafted materials based on renewable biomass feedstocks for use various applications in order to replace or partially replace petroleum based materials. It is desirable to provide polycarbonates based in whole or in part upon renewable biomass feedstocks, as polycarbonates are useful for many known applications. It is desirable to provide such useful materials by employing simple chemical methodology that is easily implemented using known industrial methodologies and processes.